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Journeying across India for the pinnacle celebration of the Hindu calendar, Laxmi and her family were sleeping by the roadside Wednesday as they waited to cleanse themselves in the sacred Ganges river.All of a sudden they were violently roused in the middle of the night by police officers, who smacked them with wooden sticks and ordered them to clear a path for other pilgrims.The officers were frantically trying to make way for a surging throng of devotees that would imminently spill over crowd control barriers and crush the dozing masses on the other side.”A large crowd surged forward, pushing and trampling us,” Laxmi, shell-shocked and huddled under a thick woollen shawl in the morning cold, told AFP.”In that chaos, my sister-in-law lost her life.”Laxmi is among millions of people who flocked to the northern city of Prayagraj for the Kumbh Mela, a six-week festival of worship and ritual bathing meant to cleanse the faithful of sin.Wednesday marks one of the holiest days in the festival, coinciding with an alignment of planets in the solar system, when saffron-clad holy men lead crowds into the water at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers.But the Kumbh Mela has a woeful safety record and celebrations have once again been overshadowed by a stampede, this time fatally crushing at least 15 pilgrims.Even before the latest incident, the festival’s attendees fumed over what they said was poor crowd management.”If we talk about the worst organized Kumbh Mela in history it will be 2025,” Mata Prasad Pandey, a 65-year-old retired teacher, told AFP.Pandey complained that he had been forced to walk more than 25 kilometres (15 miles) to and from the festival site because of onerous restrictions on vehicle traffic by organisers. “Elderly people and women are forced to walk for ages,” he added. Reserved pathways and cordoned-off areas reserved for eminent attendees have been a source of vehement complaint at the festival for reducing the amount of space for common pilgrims.Several videos shared widely on social media before the stampede showed crowds shouting at police officers for preventing them from moving about the festival grounds on foot, while they gave priority travel to distinguished guests in cars.Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi condemned organisers for “mismanagement” and a “focus on VIP movement” which he blamed for the deaths.Others, including Prayagraj local Rekha Verma, pointed the finger at heavy-handed tactics by “rude and abusive” police officers to keep immense throngs of devotees in line.”Police are using force to control the crowd and that’s why this happened,” she said. – ‘They have failed’ – But on the ground it was unclear how much power police had to keep order, with the Uttar Pradesh state government estimating tens of millions of people scattered around the festival site.Even after news of the stampede spread, a mass of people slid under gates and jumped fences to move towards the riverbed, shrugging off aggressive orders from officers to turn back.Others felt uncomfortable staying at the festival, despite the long and arduous journey.”We walked all over the night to reach out the bathing spot, but now I don’t think it’s safe to go there,” pilgrim Nirmala Devi told AFP. “We have children and elderly people with us,” she said. “We are headed back home, safety is important.”Organisers have been eager to tout the technological advancements introduced for this year’s edition of the Kumbh Mela.That includes an extensive artificial intelligence-assisted surveillance system meant to give advance warning of dangerous crowd crushes. “The government said again and again on TV that the arrangements it had made were sufficient but we now see that they have failed,” university student Ruchi Bharti told AFP. “If you see advertisements it seems like the government is providing world-class facilities,” he said. “But this stampede proved that was all a lie.”

A pre-dawn stampede at the world’s largest religious gathering killed at least 15 people in India Wednesday, with many more injured after a surging crowd spilled out of a police cordon and trampled bystanders. Deadly crowd incidents are frequent occurrence at Indian religious festivals, including the Kumbh Mela, which attracts tens of millions of devotees every 12 years to the northern city of Prayagraj.As pilgrims rushed to participate in a sacred day of ritual bathing, people sleeping and sitting on the ground near the rivers told AFP they were trampled by huge swells of devotees coming towards them in the darkness.”I was sitting near a barricade, and during the pushing and shoving, the entire crowd fell on top of me, trampling me as it moved forward,” Pilgrim Renu Devi, 48, told AFP. “When the crowd surged, elderly people and women were crushed, and no one came forward to help.”Rescue teams carrying victims from the accident site weaved through piles of clothes, shoes and other discarded belongings. Police were seen carrying stretchers bearing the bodies of victims draped with thick blankets.”At least 15 people” were killed with dozens more injured, a doctor at a hospital tending to survivors told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to talk to media. Authorities have yet to officially confirm the number of dead in the stampede, which took place around 1:00 am (1930 GMT Tuesday).Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the accident was “extremely sad” and offered his “deepest condolences” to relatives of those killed. “I wish for the speedy recovery of all injured,” he added. Dozens of relatives were anxiously waiting for news outside a large tent serving as a purpose-built hospital for the festival around one kilometre (0.6 miles) from the disaster site.- ‘Please cooperate’ -The six-week Kumbh Mela is the single biggest milestone on the Hindu religious calendar.Wednesday marks one of the holiest days in the festival, when saffron-clad holy men lead millions in a sin-cleansing ritual of bathing at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers.Instead, officials were strolling the festival with loudhailers pleading with pilgrims to keep away from the disaster site and bathe at other locations.”We humbly request all devotees do not come to the main bathing spot,” said one festival staffer, his voice crackling through his megaphone. “Please cooperate with security personnel.”The Uttar Pradesh state government, responsible for staging the festival, said millions had already bathed in the waterways between midnight and the early morning. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath told reporters that medical workers were treating those seriously injured in the crush, adding that the situation was “under control”.Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi blamed the disaster on poor crowd management that prioritised the comfort of prominent pilgrims.”Mismanagement and the administration’s special focus on VIP movement instead of common devotees are responsible for this tragic incident,” he wrote on social media. – ‘My family got scared’ -Railway official Manish Kumar said numerous special train services scheduled to transport pilgrims had been halted due to massive crowding at Prayagraj. Some devotees decided to make an early exit from the city.”I heard the news and saw the bathing site,” attendee Sanjay Nishad told AFP.”My family got scared, so we’re leaving.” The Kumbh Mela is rooted in Hindu mythology, a battle between deities and demons for control of a pitcher containing the nectar of immortality.Organisers have likened the scale of this year’s festival to that of a temporary country, forecasting up to 400 million pilgrims would visit before the final day on February 26. Mindful of the risk of deadly crowd accidents, police this year installed hundreds of cameras at the festival site and on roads leading to the sprawling encampment, mounted on poles and a fleet of overhead drones. The surveillance network is fed into a sophisticated command and control centre that is meant to alert staff if sections of the crowd get so concentrated that they pose a safety threat. More than 400 people died after they were trampled or drowned at the Kumbh Mela on a single day of the festival in 1954, one of the largest tolls in a crowd-related disaster globally.Another 36 people were crushed to death in 2013, the last time the festival was staged in the northern city of Prayagraj. 

A deadly stampede on Wednesday hit India’s Kumbh Mela, a vast Hindu festival held by the banks of the Ganges river that 400 million pilgrims are expected to visit over its six-week duration.Devotees have travelled from across India and beyond to take part in elaborate rituals, prayers and religious processions with elephants, as well as horse-back parades and chariots.The mass Hindu mela, or fair, opened on January 13 and runs until February 26 on the river banks of Prayagraj in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. Organisers say the scale of preparations for the Kumbh Mela is akin to setting up a country from scratch. – History of deadly stampedes -At least 15 people were killed in Wednesday’s stampede, a doctor told AFP, despite organisers installing hundreds of cameras and using drones to track crowds.A system using AI was designed to track people flow and sound the alarm if crowd density posed a safety threat. The plans were intended to avoid a repeat of 2013, the last time the festival was staged in the northern city of Prayagraj, when 36 people were crushed to death.In one of the worst crowd-related disasters globally, more than 400 people were trampled to death or drowned at the Kumbh Mela on a single day in 1954.- Mind-boggling numbers -Around 150,000 toilets have been built along with community kitchens that can each feed up to 50,000 people at a time.The last celebration at the site, the “ardh” or half Kumbh Mela in 2019, attracted 240 million pilgrims, according to the government.This year, authorities are preparing for up to 400 million people — more than the combined population of the United States and Canada.Mela authorities and police have set up a network of “Lost and Found” centres as well as a special Kumbh phone app to help lost pilgrims reunite with their families.- Sacred bathing -The Kumbh Mela, the “festival of the sacred pitcher”, is held at the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Sarasvati rivers.A central part of the rituals is bathing in the holy rivers, with the dawn charge often led by naked, ash-smeared monks.Hindus believe that those who immerse themselves in the waters cleanse themselves of sin, breaking free from the cycle of rebirth and ultimately attaining salvation.Many pilgrims embrace a life of simplicity during the festival — vowing non-violence, celibacy and the offering of alms — and focusing on prayer and meditation.- Cosmic battle – The festival is rooted in Hindu mythology, a battle between deities and demons for control of a pitcher, or kumbh, containing the nectar of immortality.During the battle, a cosmic fight called “Samudra Manthan”, or the “churning of the ocean”, four drops of nectar were spilt.One landed at Prayagraj, where the Kumbh is held every 12 years.The other drops fell in Nashik, Ujjain and Haridwar, cities where smaller Kumbh festivals are held in intervening years.The mythological battle is mentioned in the Rig Veda, an ancient sacred canonical Hindu text.One of the earliest historical mentions of the festival comes from Chinese Buddhist monk and scholar Hiuen Tsang, who attended in the seventh century.- Key dates -Bathing takes place every day, but on the most auspicious dates, it is known as Shahi Snan, or “royal bath”.Ceremonies include the visually spectacular “aarti”, when vast numbers of priests perform rituals holding flickering lamps.Devotees also float a sea of twinkling “diya” prayer lamps, crafted from baked flour, that glow from burning mustard oil or clarified butter.Millions of people had been expecting to participate in ritual bathing Wednesday for Mauni Amavasya, considered to be the most auspicious day of the festival, when celestial alignments are said to be ideal for purifying waters.The festival began on January 13, coinciding with the full moon, with celebrations culminating on February 26, the final holy bathing day. abh-burs-rsc/gle

A stampede at the world’s largest religious gathering in India killed at least 15 people with many more injured, a doctor at the Kumbh Mela festival in Prayagraj told AFP Wednesday.Deadly crowd crushes are a notorious feature of Indian religious festivals and the Kumbh Mela, with its unfathomable throngs of devotees, already had a grim track record of deadly crowd crushes before the latest incident overnight.The six-week festival is the single biggest milestone on the Hindu religious calendar, and millions of people were expected to be present on Wednesday for a sacred day of ritual bathing at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers.”At least 15 people have died for now. Others are being treated,” said the doctor in Prayagraj city, speaking on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to talk to media.Rescue teams were seen working with pilgrims to carry victims away from the site of the accident.Local government official Akanksha Rana told the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency that the stampede began after crowd control barriers “broke”. Pilgrim Malti Pandey, 42, told AFP that he was on his way to bathe in the river along a barricaded walking route when the stampede began.”Suddenly a crowed started pushing and many people were crushed,” he said. The Kumbh Mela is rooted in Hindu mythology, a battle between deities and demons for control of a pitcher containing the nectar of immortality.Organisers have likened the scale of this year’s festival to that of a temporary country, forecasting up to 400 million pilgrims to visit before the final day on February 26. Mindful of the risk of deadly crowd accidents, police this year installed hundreds of cameras at the festival site and on roads leading to the sprawling encampment, mounted on poles and a fleet of overhead drones. The surveillance network is fed into a sophisticated command and control centre that is meant to alert staff if sections of the crowd get so concentrated that they pose a safety threat. More than 400 people died after being trampled or drowned at the Kumbh Mela on a single day of the festival in 1954, one of the largest tolls in a crowd-related disaster globally.Another 36 people were crushed to death in 2013, the last time the festival was staged in the northern city of Prayagraj. 

Disciplined bowling and a quickfire 51 by Ben Duckett helped England bounce back to win the third T20 international against India on Tuesday and keep the series alive.Duckett’s 28-ball knock set up England to make 171-9 despite a collapse triggered by Indian spinner Varun Chakravarthy, who returned figures of 5-24 in Rajkot.England’s bowlers then combined to limit India to 145-9, sealing a 26-run win in a five-match series now only led 2-1 by India.Leg-spinner Adil Rashid impressed with figures of 1-15 from an excellent four-over spell, while England’s fast bowlers struck regularly.Jamie Overton took three wickets while Jofra Archer and Brydon Carse claimed two each.Hardik Pandya stuttered to 40 off 35 deliveries before being dismissed by Overton when the required run-rate climbed to more than 20 an over.Archer struck first with the wicket of Sanju Samson, who was caught at mid-on by Rashid.Carse dismissed Abhishek Sharma, for 24, with Archer taking a spectacular catch while running backwards from mid-off.Mark Wood sent back skipper Suryakumar Yadav, with the batter top-edging a quick, rising delivery into the gloves of wicketkeeper Phil Salt.Wickets kept tumbling as Rashid bowled Tilak Varma and Overton sent back Washington Sundar to reduce India to 85-5 and Pandya never seriously threatened to take India over the line.Earlier, Duckett’s blazing start and then a 24-ball 43 by Liam Livingstone boosted the total and the lower-order chipped in after England slipped to 127-8 in 16 overs.Duckett put on 76 runs with skipper Jos Buttler, who hit 24, after losing his opening partner Salt.Chakravarthy broke the stand with Buttler’s wicket, a caught-behind dismissal given on review.Duckett, who struck two sixes and seven fours, reached his 50 in 26 balls but was out in the same over off Axar Patel’s left-arm spin.England soon lost their way against India’s spinners as Ravi Bishnoi bowled Harry Brook for eight and Chakravarthy struck twice to send back Jamie Smith and Jamie Overton in the next over.Chakravarthy returned in his last over to take two more and register his second five-wicket haul in T20 internationals.Livingstone stood defiant and smashed Bishnoi for three sixes in the space of four balls before he holed out off Pandya, but his knock proved key.Fast bowler Mohammed Shami, who returned to international action for the first time since the 2023 ODI World Cup final, bowled three wicketless overs for 25 runs.The fourth match is on Friday in Pune.

India pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah has been named men’s cricketer of the year for 2024, the International Cricket Council announced Tuesday, a day after he won the Test award.Bumrah, 31, ended last year as the top wicket-taker in Tests with 71 wickets and inspired India to the T20 World Cup title in June.”The year 2024 was incredibly special — winning the men’s T20 World Cup 2024 in Barbados and also contributing as much as I could across all three formats of the game,” said Bumrah.”I dedicate this award to everyone who has believed in me, the power of hard work and dreams, and to bowlers worldwide who continue to inspire and strive for excellence.”Bumrah beat England batters Harry Brook and Joe Root as well as Australia’s Travis Head to the award — the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy, given by the sport’s governing body.He is fifth Indian to receive the award after Rahul Dravid (2004), Sachin Tendulkar (2010), Ravichandran Ashwin (2016) and Virat Kohli (2017, 2018).Bumrah has claimed 443 wickets in 204 international matches since his debut for India in 2016.New Zealand all-rounder Amelia Kerr was voted women’s cricketer of the year to win the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, after she won the T20 cricketer of the year on Saturday.Kerr becomes the first New Zealander to win the trophy after she inspired the White Ferns to their women’s T20 World Cup victory in October last year.The 24-year-old overcame South Africa skipper Laura Wolvaardt, Sri Lanka’s Chamari Athapaththu and Australia’s Annabel Sutherland to win the award.

Pakistan criminalised online disinformation on Tuesday, passing legislation dictating punishments of up to three years in jail and prompting journalist protests accusing the government of quashing dissent.The law targets anyone who “intentionally disseminates” information online that they have “reason to believe to be false or fake and likely to cause or create a sense of fear, panic or disorder or unrest”.It was rushed through the National Assembly with little warning last week before being approved by the Senate on Tuesday as reporters walked out of the gallery in protest.Pakistan media workers have reported rising state censorship in recent years and the public has shifted to consuming much of its news from social media.”The mainstream media is already compromised. That’s the reason why many journalists turned to YouTube,” YouTube journalist Asad Ali Toor told AFP in the capital Islamabad, where more than 150 journalists rallied against the bill.”The state wants the same control of social media as it is controlling the mainstream media,” Toor said.Around 50 journalists also protested the bill outside the press club of the southern city of Karachi on Tuesday afternoon.- ‘Highly undemocratic’ -Analysts say the government is struggling with legitimacy after elections last February plagued by rigging allegations, and with popular former prime minister Imran Khan jailed on corruption charges he insists are politically motivated.Khan’s supporters and senior lieutenants in his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party have faced a severe crackdown, with thousands rounded up and Khan’s name censored from television.Much of PTI’s campaigning has moved online where the party’s young tech-savvy base has continually called for protests.PTI senator Syed Shibli Faraz called the new law “highly undemocratic” and said it would “fuel the political victimisation” of their supporters.Facebook, TikTok and WhatsApp are among the most popular social media platforms in Pakistan, where low digital literacy fuels the spread of false information, conspiracy theories and deepfakes. Some YouTube journalists blur the line between reporting and heavily partisan commentary tailored to their millions of followers.Many lack proper fact-checking skills and contribute to spreading false information, sometimes garnering thousands of views.”I am sure that in the future, the anarchy caused in society through social media will be controlled,” government minister Tanveer Hussain said as the bill was approved.It will now be passed to the president to be rubber-stamped.- ‘Controlling the narrative’ -The new law says social media platforms must register with a newly established regulatory body, with non-compliance potentially leading to temporary or permanent bans.It also grants Pakistan’s intelligence agencies the authority to investigate disinformation and allows any citizen to file a case.Senior journalist Asif Bashir Chaudhry, a member of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists, told AFP the government had assured reporters they would be consulted but they were “betrayed and backstabbed”.”We genuinely wanted a law against misinformation, but if it’s not being done through open discussion but rather through fear and coercion, we will challenge it on every available platform,” Chaudhry said.”Even under dictatorships, legislation was not forcefully rammed through parliament the way this government is doing now.”Social media site X was shut down in the wake of February’s election, as posts alleging vote tampering spread on the platform.Digital rights activist Nighat Dad told AFP there has been “one restrictive law after another, introduced under the guise of public interest or national security”.The real intent is “consolidating power and controlling the narrative,” she said.Pakistan is ranked 152 out of 180 countries in a press freedom index compiled by Reporters Without Borders.At least 239 cases against journalists accused of spreading “fake news” have been recorded in South and Southeast Asia since 2018, according to the Anti-Fake News Lawfare online database.In Pakistan, even before the new legislation, journalists have faced arrest under terrorism legislation which civil rights monitors say is used as a cudgel on dissent.

Australian batting great Steve Smith begins a tour of Sri Lanka just one short of entering the elite club of 10,000 Test runs ahead of Wednesday’s opening match in Galle.Smith, who will captain the team for the two-match series in the absence of Pat Cummins, has amassed 9,999 runs in 114 matches at an average of more than 55.The 35-year-old is all but assured of becoming the 15th batsman in the world — and fourth Australian after Ricky Ponting, Allan Border and Steve Waugh — to achieve the milestone.Smith said the landmark would not be on his mind when he walks out at the picturesque Galle stadium overlooking the Indian Ocean.”Honestly, I’m trying not to think about it too much,” he told reporters on Tuesday.Smith suggested it had played on his mind “a bit too much” during Australia’s fifth and final Test against India in Sydney this month, where his 33 and four left him agonisingly short.”Now it’s just about focusing on the job at hand,” he said.Travis Head will open the batting in place of 19-year-old Sam Konstas on a pitch that is expected to favour spinners and at a venue where Sri Lanka have won 27 of the 46 Tests played.”Travis will bat at the top, but we’ll finalise the XI after another look at the pitch tomorrow morning,” Smith said. “The wicket has changed a bit since yesterday, so we’ll weigh our options.”- Inglis debut? -Australia, who have already set up a World Test Championship (WTC) final with South Africa at Lord’s in June, will be looking to stamp their authority as the number-one Test team.Smith was coy on whether wicketkeeper Josh Inglis, 29, was in line for his Test debut.”He has solid defence, plays spin well, and scores all around the wicket,” Smith said. “If he gets his chance, I’m confident he’ll grab it with both hands.”Sri Lanka, led by Dhananjaya de Silva, will be looking to reclaim the Warne-Murali trophy, named after late Australia hero Shane Warne and Sri Lankan spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan.Sri Lanka hammered the visiting Australians 3-0 in 2016 but the last series in 2022 ended 1-1, with both matches played in Galle.”The last time we won the Warne-Murali Trophy was in 2016, which was also my debut series. A lot of players from that campaign are still in the mix and we believe we have what it takes to repeat history,” de Silva told reporters.”Another incentive for us is the chance to finish third in the WTC standings if we win 2-0. That would be a tremendous achievement.”The hosts have injury worries, with opener Pathum Nissanka out due to a groin injury and de Silva struggling with a side strain.”Pathum is a key player and we’re hopeful he’ll be fit for the second Test. Whoever steps in will have a golden opportunity to make a mark,” de Silva said.Oshada Fernando, a seasoned campaigner with a knack for piling up runs in domestic cricket, is the frontrunner to replace Nissanka.

Nepali airlines have resumed rescue helicopter flights to the Everest region, an aviation industry official announced Tuesday, following weeks of suspension prompted by protests from locals citing environmental impact and loss of income from trekkers.Helicopters are a key means of transport and crucial for emergency rescue in many remote regions around mountainous Nepal, vast stretches of which are often inaccessible by road.But they have also been used to give mountaineering teams and tourists a shortcut over challenging terrain in the Sagarmatha National Park, home to Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak. For those who can afford the $1,000 price tag, helicopters reduce the two-week long trek to Everest base camp to just a day — depriving Nepalis along the overland route of a key source of revenue.In early January, the Airlines Operators Association of Nepal grounded all flights, blaming the halt on local youths who had blocked landing sites with flags.The association also said the protesters had warned pilots who landed that they would be forced to walk back on foot.On Tuesday, association official Pratap Jung Pandey told AFP that rescue flights were reopened Saturday “on humanitarian grounds”. But commercial flights to the region were still suspended, as negotiations with locals for their resumption were ongoing. “It is going in a positive direction and it should reopen soon. But I cannot say exactly when,” Pandey told AFP.Over 50,000 tourists visit the Everest region every year.According to the association, the Everest region sees about 15 helicopter flights per day in the winter and up to 60 per day during peak tourist season.”Rescue flights are crucial in mountaineering to save lives of climbers if anything happens,” said Mingma Gyalje Sherpa who runs Imagine Nepal, a mountaineering expedition company.   Earlier this month, German mountaineer Jost Kobusch — who has made several Himalayan ascents — cited the lack of helicopter rescues as one of the reasons for ending his solo winter climb up Everest. “I have never been rescued due to an emergency in my career but right now there are protests going on… making helicopter rescues impossible,” he said in a January 11 post on Instagram. Kobusch also cited other factors, like aftershocks from an earthquake causing riskier conditions.

Residents of the Afghan capital have complained of rising food prices as the local currency lost value against the US dollar in recent days. The currency fell to around 80 Afghanis to the dollar on Monday after hovering around 70 in recent weeks.Kabul residents have reported rising prices of basic goods and are concerned they will not readjust in one of the poorest countries in the world, where consumers are anxiously following policy announcements from US President Donald Trump’s new administration. Observers link the change to Trump’s decision to freeze US foreign assistance. The United States remains Afghanistan’s largest aid donor. Afghanistan’s currency stability in part depends on US dollars flowing in to aid organisations that are then exchanged in the market for Afghani, analysts said.The fear is that “this dollar is not going to come anymore. So the Afghani does not have takers”, said analyst Torek Farhadi, who was an adviser on the development of the Afghani in the years after the end of the first Taliban reign in 2001.For Abdul Maroof Niaz Zada, a 40-year-old Kabul shopkeeper, the fluctuation “may mean nothing to the rest of the world, but it has a big impact in Afghanistan”.”The price changes are not noticeable for the businessmen maybe but it’s very difficult for the poor,” he said, noting that the prices of daily goods such as flour, oil and rice had gone up by 200-500 Afghanis ($2.60 – $6.70). The World Food Programme said in January nearly 15 million people are going hungry across Afghanistan, with the UN agency providing aid to help people get through the country’s harsh winters.”Food, fuel, gas, everything gets expensive as the dollar goes up,” 28-year-old Tofan Ahmadi, who works at a Kabul currency exchange, told AFP. The Afghani’s stability depends “largely on Afghanistan’s ability to secure consistent foreign exchange inflows, either through sustained remittances, aid, or by diversifying its  export base”, the World Bank said in a December 2024 report. It underscored “the reduced capacity of Afghanistan’s foreign exchange reserves to shield the economy from external shocks”. The Afghan central bank, which told Afghans “not to worry” about currency fluctuations, met with major money changers and announced an auction of $25 million on Monday.